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The king who established the world with justice is never biased and never take bribes. He is exacting with his righteous ones to a hair’s breadth. We come now to bless and sanctify the month in which Moshe, our teacher, died, because he struck the rock to give forth water.[1]Cf. Numbers 20:1-13 He needed only to speak to the rock, the way you commanded him. That could have been a lesson for Jews. Imagine if even a stone reacts to speech, how much more should a person react to words of instruction and chastisement to do the will of the Creator. Let not the heart be hardened like a rock, meaning that it must be brought to suffering before it repents. Therefore, we become very fearful and we tremble when we search our hearts for what kind of iniquities, transgressions and willful sins we have done. You showed no bias to even Moshe our teacher. There is so much against us, we are full of sins. Woe is to us, that we became such fools.

Stand up, Moshe our teacher, and open the heavenly doors to let in our prayers and requests. See Yisra’el, your sheep, whom you fed in the desert, and from whom you suffered greatly. They stand now with a bitter heart and broken spirit, and they request of you that you should plead before the king on their behalf, before the King of all kings the blessed Holy One that he should bless us this month of Adar with all that is good. Open for us the doors of mercy, and the doors of favor, and the doors of life, and health, and sustenance, and success. As it says, “YHVH will open for you his good treasure.”[2]Deuteronomy 28:12 partial All this God will do because of your merit, because you were the messenger that took us out of Mitsrayim and brought us to Mt. Sinai. You gave us the holy Torah, taught us the holy mitsvot, even though we caused you much aggravation. When the Jews sinned you entreated God on their behalf. So too stand up now and plead for Yisra’el that this month of Adar, that we are sanctifying, should be blessed by God. Just as in your merit [Moshe], Hashem (may their Name be praised) made the manna rain from Heaven, so should Hashem now rain upon us abundance, blessings, and success in all our work. Let us not have to be beholden to others and let our storehouses become full. May our hands also become full with God’s blessing. Amen.

To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ אַדָר רִאשׁוֹן (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Adar I”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877) before its adaptation in Shas Tkhine Ḥadashe, the source from which this translation was made. English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project, which he founded and directs. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin, Ministarot Nakeniשְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. Besides his transcription work, Varady occasionally translates prayers and contributes his own original work. (Varady also serves as editor and administrator of the Open Siddur Project website, opensiddur.org, and is an outspoken advocate for open-source in Judaism more of which can be read about in this interview in the Atlantic Magazine.)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established."–Psalms 90:17

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